Passengers are facing repeated cancellations on the main London to south Wales mainline because of a shortage of drivers trained to use the new express trains, it has been claimed.

Several Great Western Railway passengers have said they have been told that a lack of drivers has led to their service being cancelled at short notice.

Journalist Elena Cresci said she had experienced three cancellations between London and Cardiff in the last month.

(Image: PA)

A spokesman for the mainline rail operator said that it was standard practice that drivers were not trained to use all kinds of train and blamed staff sickness or “infrastructure issues” for the cancellations.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers tell us that what they most want from their rail service is to get a seat on a train that is punctual, frequent and value for money.

“Passengers, who have put up with much inconvenience in the expectation of a better, more reliable service, will now want to know Great Western Railway have enough staff in the right place at the right time.”

Elena Cresci tweeted: “So I’ve been back to Cardiff three times in the last month - without fail, every single time, GWR has cancelled the train going back to London. It’s wild. What’s going wrong on this line?”

She then reported that staff at the station have said it was down to not all drivers being able to use the new Hitachi Class 800 trains.

She said: “Station staff told me they’ve had a nightmare, said it’s because not all drivers are trained on the new trains. Which is just... classic GWR. I would have been better off with a Megabus.”

Other rail users have also taken to social media to raise the issue.

Read More

@deadlygerbil tweeted: “That’s odd as the staff at the station were talking about it being cancelled because of staffing issues. Namely no driver. Either way it’s not acceptable.

“You would be annoyed if I didn’t pay you for the journey which is less than what I’m going to lose for being late to work.”

Alison Plant said on Twitter: “Last week I was on the train to London with no seat reservations or water in the toilets. The week before my train was cancelled because they didn’t have a driver. I can’t remember the last time I was on the London train &amp; it was fine.”

Some customers even reported the trains stopping at unplanned stops.

Mike Hughes tweeted said: “I’ve been on a train for 1hr 45 minutes heading to Cardiff.

“We’ve just stopped at Oxford, even though this service isn’t calling at that station, only to be told we now don’t have a driver and another driver is delayed on a different service. What the hell is going on @GWRHelp?”

When asked for comment a GWR spokesman said that some drivers were not able drive the new trains.

He said: “Not all drivers are qualified to operate all types of train – in fact, drivers usually only specialise in one type.

“That is not to say that due to short term staff sickness, or infrastructures issues that prevent staff from being in the right place (ie unable to/delayed in get to their origin destination to board the train they should be working) and this can in some cases lead to service cancellations.”

Cardiff central station (Image: Rob Browne)

The issue over drivers is the latest to blight the Hitachi Class 800 trains.

Earlier this year it was reported that a problem with doors not closing properly on the new high speed trains were causing long delays for passengers at a number of stations.

One affected commuter, Janet Peregrine, said she was trapped at Bridgend station for 45 minutes because train doors would not open.

“Every week it seems that there is some problem,” she said.

Chris Grayling (left) and Wales Secretary Alun Cairns at the launch of a new fleet of Hitachi-built Intercity Express Great Western Railway trains. (Image: PA)

A spokesman for Great Western Railways said at the time: “There have been a small number of isolated issues with the operation of IET doors, which has occasionally meant it has spent longer at stations than expected.”